The Fall of Rome

When Theodosius died in 395 AD,
he left the Roman Empire to his two sons, Honorius and Arcadius. Honorius
took the West and Arcadius the East. But like other
emperors who had been brought up at court, neither of them was very
good at ruling, or even very interested. Most of the actual work was
done by their advisors.

Stilicho

Most of Honorius' work was done by a Vandal named Stilicho. He had
joined the Roman army and risen through the ranks to become and important
general.

It didn't take long for the Germans and Goths to realize that the new
young emperors were weak and so this was a good time to attack. Roman
generals also saw this weakness and revolted.
First, Constantine III, a general in England, declared himself emperor
at York in 405 AD. He took all the Roman
troops out of England, across the English Channel to France, and he
marched his army through France, collecting the French troops so they
could all march on Rome.

But while Constantine III was doing this, nobody was watching the
border. In January 409 AD, a lot of Alans,
Vandals,
and Sueves
crossed the Rhine (which was frozen
solid) and came into the Roman Empire. There were no troops there
to stop them, so they just travelled
around France taking whatever they wanted. Both women and men came,
and they brought their children, so they seem to have meant to stay.

Meanwhile Constantine III was trying to take over Spain. He sent
his general Gerontius to Spain, but then Gerontius decided to make himself
Emperor instead of working for Constantine III. In order to get a good-sized
army together, Gerontius seems to have agreed to let the Alans, Vandals,
and Sueves into Spain, and they promised to help him out.
Then the Roman government sent out a general to stop Constantine III.
Constantine III was killed, and so was Gerontius. All of their soldiers
(the ones from England and the ones from France, and maybe the ones
from Spain too) were taken back to Italy to deal with the Visigoths.
This left England, France, and Spain pretty much open for Germans to
take over.

Back in Italy, the Visigoths
were attacking. The Visigoths had been living inside the Roman Empire
since the battle of Adrianople in 378 AD.
But they had not been treated very well: the Romans had kept them from
getting food or building decent houses. Under their new king, Alaric
(AL-arr-ick), the Visigoths demanded gold from Honorius. When he said
no, the Visigoths marched on Rome. Despite the gathering of soldiers
to fight them, the Visigoths not only got to Rome but in 410 AD
they took the city and sacked it (they wrecked things, killed people,
and took what they wanted). The Roman people were shocked. How
could anyone attack Rome, the Eternal City? Did this mean that the
gods were angry? Did it mean the Christian
God was angry?

For more on the fall of Rome, check out these books from Amazon.com
or from your library:

Classical
Rome, by John Clare (1993). For kids, the whole political history
from beginning to end.

The
Romans: From Village to Empire, by Mary Boatwright, Daniel Gargola,
and Richard Talbert (2004). Okay, it's a little dry, but it is up to
date and has all the facts you could want.

Corruption
and the Decline of Rome, by Ramsay MacMullen (1988). A leading historian
argues that the collapse was caused by economic conflict between the
upper and lower classes of the Empire. I don't agree, but see for yourself.

The
Fall of the Roman Empire, by Michael Grant (1976, reprinted 1997)
0684829568. Grant's an easy, clear writer, but he blames the collapse
on too much government bureaucracy and taxation - again, I don't agree.

Fall
of the Roman Empire, by Arthur Ferrill (1986). Blames the collapse
on military losses - I find this much easier to believe, although Ferrill's
book emphasizes Roman military mistakes rather than the strengths of
the invaders.

Early
Medieval Europe, 300-1000, by Roger Collins (2nd edition 1999).
Sees a gradual transition, rather than a collapse, but I like the emphasis
he places on attacks from outside the Empire.

Kidipede - History and Science for Kids is an award-winning website for middle school written and published since 1995 by Dr. K.E. Carr, Professor Emerita, Department of History, Portland State University.

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